Wānaka op shop & adventure guide

Wānaka is a lush boutique style town on the lower half of the South Island in New Zealand and in our humble opinion - this place is simply perfect for a family getaway. Surrounded by alpine lakes that are an unreal shade of blue & turquoise - depending on the day 🌴 It's the gateway to the Southern Alps' Mount Aspiring National Park, there is a world of forests, glaciers, snow capped mountains, summer adventure, winter snow adventure and magic around every corner.

And treasure - treasure in the form of op shops, recycling centers and vintage stores - so yeah, we highly recommend a getaway to this little paradise.
What also makes Wānaka extra special is it’s appeal to travel to in all seasons with its super lovely hot summer for lake swimming to its extreme cold in winter for snow adventure, all round - perfection.

Wānaka is small with a population of about 9000, but its bustling with funky cafes, deli’s, restaurants, bars, public spaces & playgrounds and markets, there is definitely no shortage of fun to be had in Wānaka. You truly need at least 3 nights here.

Wānaka has 4 op shops ☺️ and each is a treasure trove!

Adventure

ROB ROY GLACIER TRACK

Goodness me this walk was unreal! We are always searching for beauty and intrepid nature, this walk has been on our bucket list for some time now ✨

Located in New Zealand’s Mount Aspiring National Park, a one hour drive inland from Wānaka, this walk is pretty mind blowing 🌴

Our experience of it was not the ‘easy’ walk which the NZ DOC website suggests 😆 it’s a hugely steep climb in, about 2kms up.
But Frankie smashed it, she is 7 years old.
We did see a few other families walking this track too.
At one stage we pondered - this is a bit more intense than what we envisioned, but we encountered a grandfather and his 2 grandchildren of about 12 years old halfway, they were headed down. We asked them how far away we were, their excitement of the glacier and their praise for Frankie gave her exactly what she needed to literally run 😂
* leaving mum and dad panting behind her!

Mid way the forest opens and you get a glimpse of the glacier and waterfall and you’re like 😳 wow are you serious! And you keep going!

Highly recommend this walk!

Take water, but you can drink and refill your bottles from the stream half way up!
Take sunscreen and hats, there’s a lot of exposed walking bits.

For us it was a 3hr return hike from our car to the bottom viewing platform 🏔️

Find google coordinates to the car park,
Raspberry Flat Carpark HERE

LAKE SWIMMING

We LOVE a good spot to swim in lakes, we have particular requirements we try and seek out - we love a spot where it is instantly deep with a touch of a beach so Frankie can also play, we love to dive right into the water from the edge 🌴 and we strive to look for a spot where we can get close to with our car.
Lake Hāwea, John’s Creek is the perfect spot for this kind of lake bathing. Just a short 20 min drive from Wānaka.
Find the google coordinates HERE

Glendhu Bay is also a beautiful area to walk and swim in, as is the waterfront at Lake Wānaka township, their raft is wonderful to swim out too and jump off.

LANDESCAPE WāNAKA

We are always on the hunt for any type of hot tub, hot pools, saunas and spas. The more intrepid and unique, the better we always say!
Landescape offers a pretty unique experience with their hot tubs which are surrounded by crystal clear lakes and snow capped mountains - this adventure does have winter written all over it.
You can also park your caravan or campervan here overnight, you can also hire Ebikes to bike some of the stunning tracks.
See all information on their website
landescape-wanaka.nz

WATERFALL EQUESTRIAN

Are you into horse riding?
Waterfall Equestrian offers stunning trecks through vineyards and forests.
waterfallequestrian.com

Snow

Sadly we have not spent a winter in Wānaka yet, but we have made the effort to drive to Lindis Pass for day trips to experience snow - Wānaka’s winter would be absolutely magical with its world renowned ski fields and winter life and we cant wait to experience it.

SLEEP

THE TURRET HOUSE WāNAKA

Find all the info on the home, including airbnb link to book at this website...
www.turrethouse.co.nz

Want a 10% discount to stay?
Mention Anna from She Hunts Op Shops
Email Sandy direct….
bookings@woodstays.com.au

Turret House socials
Instagram
Facebook

The Turret House was so superb and perfect for our little family.

We strongly recommend this home for your stay if you spend time in Wānaka, New Zealand!

Firstly - it's fully stocked! It's so annoying when you go away with intentions of cooking meals to save money - only to find your airbnb has no cooking oil or no cooking equipment 😟

The Turret House has everything you need to cook at home - which to us as a budget conscious family means everything!
I did a big shop before our holiday and spent the afternoon prior to leaving - preparing 3 dinners to take away with us, money I would have spent anyway had we simply been at home eating.
As much as we love eating out - it's jolly expensive and we prefer to spend our money on a beautiful place to stay in, rather than eat in fancy restaurants.
I included breakfasts, snacks & 3 dinners to take away with us, we ate out once in town as a special treat 🙂

The kitchen was luxurious and open plan to the whole house and I just kinda instantly knew where everything lived - yay.

Location 🌴 so important to us when we skip away for a much needed break.
We take a trailer with our bikes, our kayak, a big beach rug and other adventure accessories. The Turret House has a huge double garage you can access so the trailer just lived in there, so handy, secure and safe.

With a 7 year old, biking around these kind of towns makes life SO much easier and the Turret House is 3 blocks from the lakefront and has mountain views! So we could eat dinner at home, then bike down for a swim and a cheeky cocktail since we saved money on not eating at a fancy restaurant 😉

I love the effort Sandy has put into her home with an emphasis on it being plastic free, she provides 6 reusable drinking bottles so you don't have to buy water bottles, and she's even thought to leave shopping bags in case you forgot yours! Recycling, landfill and glass bins are all right there - and it's a shoe free home, but it deserves to be - because you kinda just float all around it!

OP SHOPS, TREASURE STORES & WASTEBUSTERS

Wānaka has 5 amazing places to hunt for treasure in! And if you are heading to Wānaka via the Lindis Pass its worth a little stop into Mrs Robinsons in Tarras.
In no particular order - here is my Wānaka op shop and treasure hunting guide.

WāNAKA WASTEBUSTERS
Ballantyne Road, Wānaka 9343
Open 7 days a week
9am - 5pm
DIRECTIONS
WEBSITE

UPPER CLUTHA HOSPICE TRUST
11A Brownston Street, Wānaka
Closed on Sundays, shuts at 1pm on Saturday
DIRECTIONS
WEBSITE

HOSPICE SHOP
9 Gordon Road, Wānaka
Closed on weekends
DIRECTIONS

SALVATION ARMY FAMILY STORE
Unit 3/10-12 Umbers Street,
Three Parks, Wānaka
Closed on Sundays
DIRECTIONS

THE LITTLE OP SHOP
* By appointment
follow their Facebook page HERE for info

MRS ROBINSONS
* if you travel through the Lindis Pass
2820 Tarras-Cromwell Road,
Tarras 9383
DIRECTIONS
WEBSITE